Tomorrow, my fellowship here in Nigeria comes to an end. The last two weeks have been a true sprint to the finish line! Last week, aside from collecting the last of the Wimbiz Baseline Member Surveys (and finishing up several other projects!), I filmed and produced a short video on the Wimbiz Mentoring Program-at the request of the Executive Secretary. The video will be screened at Wimbiz’s Annual Conference in November, in front of a 350 person audience. It was a bit stressful fitting this in so late in my fellowship, but it was well worth the effort!
On Friday, July 31st, we invited several mentees into the Wimbiz office to capture their experiences and expectations. There were 2 groups: 5 women from the program’s 1st stream (which began in February) and 5 from the 2nd stream (most of which have yet to be paired with mentors).
The entire production was a team effort; Maureen (Program Assistant), moderated both interview sessions and designed our “set,” Tosin (Hub Program Manager) was lead photographer, and I was behind the Filp Camera, filming. Both sessions provided a fascinating look into just how influential this program has been. Most of 1st stream mentees said the experience fundamentally altered the way they do business, in terms of how they engage with their customers, manage their finances and staff. After hearing such praise, 2nd batch mentees are eager to begin. Can you blame them?
Hopefully, once the video is screened in November, it will be uploaded to YouTube, so you can all see it for yourselves!
Tags: female entrepreneurs, mentoring, Nigeria
Dear Abisola,
Thanks for the great work you’ve done in Nigeria. I’m pleased you had the opportunity to also re-discover your roots while making such an important contribution to the empowerment of our women. I look forward to an opportunity to learn about your experiences during your visit. I’ll also be on the lookout for the video on You Tube!Please do stay in touch with the Advocacy Project.
Bayo
Congrats Abisola! Travel safe and I look forward to seeing you stateside very soon!
Thanks for all your work, Abisola! On behalf of Vital Voices, it definitely much appreciated, as I’m sure WIMBIZ is twice as grateful! I look forward to seeing the movie once it’s on YouTube!
Hope you have safe travels back to the States!